New Apps For People With Low Vision

People with low vision often suffer from a decreased quality of life, as they’re unable to fully enjoy normal activities like reading, writing, driving, or even recognizing faces. It’s a surprisingly common issue, with almost three million Americans suffering from this debilitating eye disease.

Low vision is most common in individuals who have suffered from age-related eye diseases, like diabetic retinopathy, macular generation, and glaucoma. Low vision makes it difficult to independently perform everyday activities, as these people have to rely on others for help. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that many low vision suffers (about one-third) also suffer from clinical depression.

While people with low vision often had few options for increasing their quality of life, the development of new tablet and smartphone apps is now making it possible for these individuals to perform activities on their own. Let’s take a look at a few of these advancements:

Text magnification: People with low vision often find it difficult to read normal text in a book or a magazine. Tablets and smartphones are addressing this issue by offering text magnification, which significantly increases the size of the text. This makes reading much more comfortable for low vision sufferers.

Lighting enhancement: Most tablets and smartphones now come with the ability to adjust the device’s lighting, which can be a huge help for people with low vision. Lighting enhancement can help make text brighter, which makes it easier for a person with low vision to see and read.

Voice and audio control: With the invention of iPhone’s Siri, many people with low vision are now able to use smartphones without needing to read. A simple voice command can prompt Siri to pull up maps, make reservations and appointments, call contacts, and even search for information on the Internet. What’s more, Siri’s audio control completely takes reading out of the equation, as the app uses audio to reveal results. Other apps have built on Siri’s success, which means that most smartphones are equipped with powerful voice and audio control.

Whether you suffer from low vision or know someone who does, these apps can help provide a better quality of life. Supplement these apps with regular check-ups at NewView Eye Center in Reston, VA, where Dr. Jacqueline Griffiths can help treat low vision. NewView Eye Center serves the greater Washington, DC area.